Today we had the opportunity to see the northern side of one of the biggest islands of the archipelago, Santa Cruz. We started with a morning hike to “Cerro Dragon” which translates to “Dragon Hill” because it is home to the endemic Galapagos land iguanas. We observed that this arid coast had beaches of white sand, forests of giant prickly pear cacti and incense trees. On our one and a half mile walk we saw the burrows that the land iguanas have dug in the soft soil. They need these burrows to stay warm at night as compared to the marine iguanas that stay warm by piling up on top of each other.
We also had a stop at the top of the hill where we were able to see the beautiful view other islands that we will visit in the next couple of days. After a couple of selfies and pictures with friends, we returned to our Zodiacs for our next adventure.
We returned to the National Geographic Endeavour to quickly change into our snorkel gear. Many of us have become addicted to the adventures of the deep-water snorkel trips and find such joy in taking our cameras to capture the underwater world. Today we swam against the current along Guy Fawkes Islets, where we saw spectacular invertebrate-covered cliffs, sea stars the size of dinner plates, playful sea lions and more.
Once we were all aboard, we sailed north to the famous Daphne Major Islet. Many of us were looking forward to seeing the natural laboratory where so much research has been done to study the ecology of Darwin’s finches. We were also excited about the Ecuadorian lunch in the dining room. We knew that the chef and his staff were going to treat us to the delicious Ecuadorian gastronomy, and it not disappoint. Many of us had second servings of the pig, deliciously addictive cassava bread, beet salad, and, of course, dessert.
The afternoon was full of fun workshops and talks for us in the lounge. Naturalist Gaby gave the second workshop on Paper to Pearls, where we used beads and string to make beautiful pieces of jewelry. Then our artist in residence, Amy, held her third art workshop and this time we used water colors to paint iguanas. Naturalist Gilda shared her expert knowledge on “Darwin in Galapagos” which was the perfect way to end a wonderful afternoon of learning and fun.
At sunset, we circumnavigated Daphne Major and were treated to a wine tasting at the bow of the ship. The many Ecuadorian wines along with the incredible display of colors that painted the sky was the perfect setting to celebrate and toast the friendships of this incredible experience.
Our recap in the lounge was kicked off by a wonderful video presentation in which naturalist Jose shared footage of the fish and underwater sea life we have seen during our deep-water snorkeling. Then naturalist Gaby shared with us a presentation on the great influence that the Galapagos Islands has had on English Literature such as Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver’s Travels. Dinner was delicious and we ended the night with a video presentation in the lounge. What an incredible day of adventure, learning, and fun.
